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 Ģ������ƵStories      December 10, 2025

By Bill Studenc

A Ģ������Ƶ professor who traveled from India to the United States on a study permit with $20 in his pocket and a dream in his heart has created a scholarship fund to help College of Business students who face similar challenges in their educational journey.

Vittal Anantatmula, professor of project management at WCU, and spouse Manga have made a $25,000 contribution to establish the Anantatmula Endowed Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will support students earning degrees in the College of Business who have a GPA of 3.5 or better, with preference given to students who are the first in their family to attend college and who have demonstrated financial need.

“I came to the United States on an F-1 student visa more than three decades ago,” he said. “India was facing a severe foreign exchange crisis at the time, so the Reserve Bank of India paid my first semester tuition directly to my university and allowed me to carry only $20 in cash. That $20 was just enough to get me from the airport to campus.”

Those early years working on his master’s degree in engineering management at George Washington University were difficult, said Anantatmula, who had earned bachelor's and master’s degrees in his home country before arriving in the United States for advanced studies.

“Even with a research assistantship, I felt the financial strain and the uncertainty that many international students experience. But those challenges shaped me,” he said. “They made me determined to support students who dream of an education but struggle to afford it.”

After completing his studies and entering the world of academia as a faculty member and administrator, Anantatmula frequently encountered young people who were in the shoes he once wore – struggling to make ends meet while going to college.

“As a program director at George Washington University, I was fortunate to help many domestic and international students with financial aid. Later, at Western Carolina University, I met even more students in need – students I wanted to help but couldn’t because funds were limited,” said Anantatmula, who joined the faculty in the College of Business at Ģ������Ƶin 2005.

“Serving on the University Scholarship Committee from 2021 to 2023 made the need even clearer. Reading those applications reminded me of my own journey,” he said. “That is why I decided to establish an endowment for College of Business students who maintain a 3.5 GPA, are the first in their family to attend college and show financial need. This fund is my way of giving back in recognition of the support I received and helping students who are walking a path I know well.”

Although Anantatmula was not the first member of his family to attend college, he was the first to leave his hometown and pursue a degree at a reputed institution of higher education. “Having said that, I saw many student applications that showed they are first-generation, and I thought of encouraging more such students,” he said.

Anantatmula earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Andhra University and his master’s degree in business administration from the Management Development Institute and Indian Institutes of Management, both in India, before coming to the United States for additional study and to start his career. Anantatmula considers America to be his home.

“This nation has given me a beautiful life, and this endowment is a small token of appreciation and expression of gratitude,” he said. “Loyalty to this land and being patriotic are very important for me, and I am proud that my only son serves in the U.S. Navy,” he said. “I would be happy if recipients of the scholarship help others and spread this helping culture.”

A.J. Grube, dean of WCU’s College of Business, said that the gratitude she feels when donors make donations to benefit students in her college is magnified when those contributions come from those who teach, conduct research and provide services to students.

“Gifts from faculty and staff are especially meaningful,” Grube said. “Their gifts reflect their love for students, their dedication to their life’s work and their desire to give back to the Ģ������Ƶcommunity. Their contributions are woven into the fabric that is WCU, and they will be treasured for generations.”

Anantatmula is among a growing list of members of the Shetland Society, a Ģ������Ƶgiving society that recognizes faculty and staff who make financial contributions to support the place where they work.

“I hope this gift motivates other faculty members to extend similar support to the College of Business and Ģ������Ƶ,” he said.

Anantatmula received the Ģ������ƵUniversity Scholar Award in 2017, the College of Business Excellence in Research Award in 2012 and the college’s Graduate Faculty Teaching Award in 2011.

Creation of the Anantatmula Endowed Scholarship Fund comes as Ģ������Ƶis in the midst of its ongoing “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign, an effort to raise a minimum of $100 million for its academic, student engagement and athletics programs.

For more information or to make a contribution to the campaign, visit , call 828-227-7124 or email advancement@wcu.edu.